Multiple remors rattle northeast China
Earthquakes measuring up to 5.5 magnitude damage structures and cause the evacuation of thousands in Jilin province
Multiple earthquakes hit northeast China on Saturday, with a 5.5 magnitude the strongest among them, according to seismologists, causing serious damage to homes.
The 5.5 magnitude quake hit at 6.04am, 34 kilometres north of Changling in Jilin province at a shallow depth of 12.5 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
It was followed around thirty minutes later by a 4.9 magnitude quake just south of Qian’an town, with a similar tremor felt a day earlier in the same area.
More than 58,000 people were affected by the quakes, with 16,094 evacuated and more than 18,000 homes damaged, Jilin province communications office said on its official weibo microblog account.
State TV images showed seriously damaged houses, some with roofs or walls partially collapsed.
Some villages lost power, according to Xinhua news agency.
